Life histories in Fiji as reconstructed from first millennium CE Sigatoka Sand Dune burials using isotopes.

This paper aims to re-examine the dietary practices of individuals buried at Sigatoka Sand Dunes site (Fiji) in Burial Ground 1 excavated by Simon Best in 1987 and 1988 using two approaches and a reassessment of their archaeological, bioarchaeological and chronological frame. First, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was applied to document dietary changes between childhood and adulthood using an intra-individual approach on paired bone-tooth. Second, the potential adaptation of the individuals to their environment was evaluated through regional and temporal comparisons using inter-individual bone analysis. Ten AMS radiocarbon dates were measured directly on human bone collagen samples, placing the series in a range of approximately 600 years covering the middle of the first millennium CE (1,888 to 1,272 cal BP). δ13C and δ15N ratios were measured on bone and tooth collagen samples from 38 adult individuals. The results show that δ15N values from tooth are higher than those s from bone while bone and tooth δ13C values are similar, except for females. Fifteen individuals were included in an intra-individual analysis based on paired bone and tooth samples, which revealed six dietary patterns distinguished by a differential dietary intake of marine resources and resources at different trophic levels. These highlight sex-specific differences not related to mortuary practices but to daily life activities, supporting the hypothesis of a sexual division of labour. Compared to other Southwest Pacific series, Sigatoka diets show a specific trend towards marine food consumption that supports the hypothesis of a relative food self-sufficiency requiring no interactions with other groups.

Micro-punches versus micro-slices for serial sampling of human dentine: Striking a balance between improved temporal resolution and measuring additional isotope systems.

RATIONALE: The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the application of serial sampling of human dentine in archaeology. Rapid development in the field has provided many improvements in the methodology, in terms of both time resolution as well as the ability to integrate more isotope systems in the analysis. This study provides a comparison of two common sampling approaches, allowing researchers to select the most suitable approach for addressing specific research questions. METHODS: Two common approaches for sequential sampling of human dentine (micro-punches and micro-slices) are compared in terms of viability and efficacy. Using archaeological deciduous second molars and permanent first molars, this study demonstrates how the two approaches capture aspects of the weaning process in different ways. In addition, different aspects related to the extraction protocols, such as the thickness of the central slide and the solubilisation step, are also evaluated. RESULTS: While both approaches show similar intra-tooth isotopic patterns, the micro-punches approach is preferable for research that requires a very fine temporal resolution, while the micro-slices approach is best for research where δ34 S values are needed, or when the samples are poorly preserved. In addition, the solubilisation step has a large effect on collagen yield, and, to a lesser extent, on isotopic compositions. Therefore, it is important to ensure that only samples that have undergone the same pre-treatment protocol are directly compared. CONCLUSIONS: We present the pros and cons of the two micro-sampling approaches and offer possible mitigation strategies to address some of the most important issues related to each approach.

Contribution to Mediterranean medieval dietary studies: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data of marine and catadromous fish from Provence (9th-14th CE).

Whilst marine resources are one of the pillars of the Mediterranean diet, their mode of acquisition and subsequent consumption by medieval populations in southern France are still not well known. Throughout Europe, bioarchaeological techniques, however, are beginning to reveal hitherto unknown aspects of these practices both dating to the medieval period as well as other periods of history and prehistory. This study involved the stable isotope analysis of five marine and catadromous taxa from three medieval sites in Provence, France: "rue Frédéric Mistral" at Fos-sur-Mer, "le Château" at Hyères and "Couvent des Dominicaines - Parking/Collège Mignet" at Aix-en-Provence. In total, 127 specimens, including Anguilla anguilla, Dicentrarchus labrax, Sparus aurata, Diplodus sargus and Mugilidae were subjected to carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. The study provides a crucial and unprecedented point of reference of the carbon and nitrogen isotopic variability of one of the main dietary resources in the Mediterranean world, fish.

Disability in a medieval village community: A unique case of facial dysmorphism.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the pathology causing the severe facial dysmorphia of a medieval individual from the site of Rigny (Indre-et-Loire, France) and to evaluate its functional repercussions on the subject's hearing and social life. MATERIALS: An individual from Rigny for the osteological study, 69 individuals from the region for the Ct-Scan study and 48 individuals from the site for the isotopic analysis. METHODS: Macroscopic analysis was performed using standard osteological methods. Consequences of pathology on hearing were assessed by CT-scan. Dietary behaviour was analysed by stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen. RESULTS: The individual is a woman who was over 50 years of age at the time of her death with a severe form of Treacher-Collins syndrome that resulted in deafness. No osteological signs of maltreatment were observed and there is no evidence that this individual's diet was different from that of the rest of the community. CONCLUSIONS: All information testifies to the integration of this individual into the village population. SIGNIFICANCE: This study is the first archaeological description of Treacher Collins syndrome. It shows the ability of the paleopathological approach to help identify the attitudes of societies for which written sources are most often lacking. LIMITATIONS: In the absence of palaeogenomic analysis it is not possible to identify the origin of this case. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Increase the paleopathological semiology by CT-scan in order to specify the consequences of pathologies and integrate isotopic analyses to enrich discussion about perceptions of disease.

3D reappraisal of trepanations at St. Cosme priory between the 12th and the 15th centuries, France.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to place trepanation in a medieval therapeutic context by addressing its medical use in neurological disorders and by testing the existence of particular dietary care for the sick. MATERIALS: Six cases of trepanation found at the St. Cosme priory (La Riche, France) dated from the 12th-15th centuries. METHODS: Neurological health was explored by geometric morphometrics by comparing the six cases to 68 skulls and 67 endocraniums belonging to individuals from the same period and geographical area. Trepanned diet was investigated by carbon and nitrogen isotopes and compared to 49 individuals from the same site. RESULTS: The study of shapes suggests a possible pathological state for four subjects. The diet of the trepanned is not different from the rest of the population. CONCLUSIONS: The treatment of neurological disorders emerges as the main therapeutic motivation in the corpus, contrary to the reports from the ancient surgical treatises. A specific diet for the sick is not highlighted. SIGNIFICANCE: Geometric morphometrics is rarely used in paleopathology and the results suggest a potential of this type of analysis in the identification of pathological cases. The results on therapeutic motivations and diet do not fit the descriptions from ancient medical sources. LIMITATIONS: The study of forms did not lead to definitive diagnosis. The isotopic study does not allow us to appreciate all the aspects of the diet. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: A geometric morphometric study of the skulls and endocraniums of individuals with a known neurological condition would allow a better appreciation of the link between shapes and pathologies.

The place of millet in food globalization during Late Prehistory as evidenced by new bioarchaeological data from the Caucasus.

Two millets, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica, were domesticated in northern China, around 6000 BC. Although its oldest evidence is in Asia, possible independent domestication of these species in the Caucasus has often been proposed. To verify this hypothesis, a multiproxy research program (Orimil) was designed to detect the first evidence of millet in this region. It included a critical review of the occurrence of archaeological millet in the Caucasus, up to Antiquity; isotopic analyses of human and animal bones and charred grains; and radiocarbon dating of millet grains from archaeological contexts dated from the Early Bronze Age (3500-2500 BC) to the 1st Century BC. The results show that these two cereals were cultivated during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA), around 2000-1800 BC, especially Setaria italica which is the most ancient millet found in Georgia. Isotopic analyses also show a significant enrichment in 13C in human and animal tissues, indicating an increasing C4 plants consumption at the same period. More broadly, our results assert that millet was not present in the Caucasus in the Neolithic period. Its arrival in the region, based on existing data in Eurasia, was from the south, without excluding a possible local domestication of Setaria italica.

Dietary inferences through stable isotope analysis at the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the southern Caucasus (sixth to first millenium BC, Azerbaijan): From environmental adaptation to social impacts.

OBJECTIVES: Subsistence strategies are of great interest for understanding how prehistoric societies adapted to their environment. This is particularly the case for the southern Caucasus where relationships have been shown with the northern Caucasus and Mesopotamia since the Neolithic and where societies are alternately described as sedentary and mobile. This article aims, for the first time, to characterize human diets and their evolution using biochemical markers, from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age (sixth-first millenium BC), at Mentesh Tepe, a site in the middle Kura valley in Azerbaijan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data set belongs to 40 humans, 32 domestic and wild animals, and 42 charred seeds discovered in situ and perfectly dated. Stable isotope analyses were performed, including (a) δ13 Cco and δ15 N for animal and human bone collagens and for seeds, and (b) δ13 Cap for human bone apatite. RESULTS: Almost all the data (25/31) suggest an increased contribution of cereals, lentils, and freshwater fish during the Neolithic, whereas afterwards, until the Late Bronze Age, all individuals consumed more animal proteins from their livestock. None of the biological criteria (age at death and sex) and burial types (mass/single graves) were found to be related to a specific diet over time. Comparisons with other isotopic data from contemporary sites in Georgia argue in favor of a wide variety of dietary sources in the vicinity of the Kura valley and for highly mobile populations. Clear evidence of millet consumption has only been found for the Late Bronze Age.

"Mind the gap"-Assessing methods for aligning age determination and growth rate in multi-molar sequences of dietary isotopic data.

OBJECTIVES: Creating multi-tooth sequences of micro-sampled stable isotope (SI) analytical data can help track 20+ years of individual dietary history. Inferences about individual and population level behavioral patterns require cross-calibration of the timing of dietary changes recorded by each tooth. Dentin sections from contemporaneous tissues (eg, in M1 and M2) reflect dietary signature for the time of growth. Contemporary sections should produce similar values, allowing alignment of temporally overlapping portions of teeth into multi-tooth sequences. Published methods for determining the ages of incremental sections do not provide guidance for adjustment when poor alignment between individual tooth sequences is encountered. The primary objective is to address this problem; examine cause(s), assess the effects of the standard growth-model on available age-assessment techniques, and provide a viable solution. METHODS: Investigating difficulty in aligning a 3-molar sequence at Shamanka II, an Early Neolithic (7000-5700 BP) Kitoi hunter-gatherer cemetery in Cis-Baikal, Siberia, we employed 10 age assessment models and 13 variants of 2 published growth rate methods on 3 individuals of different age and sex. RESULTS: At Shamanka II, dentin initiation and/or growth rates were different from the mostly European, reference populations used to create published age-estimation/growth rate models. Initiation ages for M2 and M3 were delayed. Root formation rates were on the rapid end of known development parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Age-assessment methods customized to dentin initiation ages and growth parameters of Siberian populations produced a hybrid growth rate model for dentin section ages and improved alignment for multi-tooth SI sequences over published models.

Copper and zinc isotope ratios in human bone and enamel.

OBJECTIVES: Here, we report Cu and Zn isotope ratios of bones and teeth of French people from various historical periods with the aim to understand how Cu and Zn isotope ratios of bone, a tissue that is continuously remodeled throughout life but that is prone to post-mortem diagenesis, compare with that of tooth enamel, a tissue that forms once during childhood but that is more resistant to diagenesis. Specifically, we examine (1) the potential existence of sex-related differences in the Cu isotope ratios (represented as δ65 Cu) in the tooth enamel of identified men and women, and (2) a decrease of Zn isotope delta ratios (represented as δ66 Zn) related to the increase of meat and fish consumption during the 20th century. METHODS: Four series of material were studied: the archeological population of Saint-Laurent de Grenoble (17th -18th centuries AD), an anatomical collection of skulls (19th century AD), a contemporary anatomical collection of bones never buried, and contemporary teeth samples. The metals were purified by liquid chromatography and their isotopic ratios measured by means of multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. RESULTS: We describe a clear offset between bone and tooth enamel for Zn isotope ratios, as previously observed in animals. There is a similar offset for Cu isotope ratios. We did not observe any difference between the δ65 Cu values of men and women when looking at dental enamel. For the contemporary samples, the δ66 Zn values of bioapatite decreased, which might be explained by the increase of animal product consumption among the French people during this period, notably when the access to seafood became widespread. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that the Cu and Zn isotope compositions of dental enamel are promising tools for childhood diet reconstruction. Meanwhile, the Cu isotope ratio of tooth enamel is unlikely to be useful for the identification of biological sex, even in the case of populations with early menarche. Further works are needed to understand the relationships between trophic level and Zn isotope ratios of human remains.

Urban and rural infant-feeding practices and health in early medieval Central Europe (9th-10th Century, Czech Republic).

In the Central European context, the 9th and 10th centuries are well known for rapid cultural and societal changes concerning the development of the economic and political structures of states as well as the adoption of Christianity. A bioarchaeological study based on a subadult skeletal series was conducted to tackle the impact of these changes on infant and young child feeding practices and, consequently, their health in both urban and rural populations. Data on growth and frequency of nonspecific stress indicators of a subadult group aged 0-6 years were analyzed. A subsample of 41 individuals was selected for nitrogen and carbon isotope analyses, applying an intra-individual sampling strategy (bone vs. tooth). The isotopic results attest to a mosaic of food behaviors. In the urban sample, some children may have been weaned during their second year of life, while some others may have still been consuming breast milk substantially up to 4-5 years of age. By contrast, data from the rural sample show more homogeneity, with a gradual cessation of breastfeeding starting after the age of 2 years. Several factors are suggested which may have been responsible for applied weaning strategies. There is no evidence that observed weaning strategies affected the level of biological stress which the urban subadult population had to face compared with the rural subadult population.

Lapita diet in remote oceania: new stable isotope evidence from the 3000-year-old Teouma site, Efate Island, Vanuatu.

Remote Oceania was colonized ca. 3000 BP by populations associated with the Lapita Cultural Complex, marking a major event in the prehistoric settlement of the Pacific Islands. Although over 250 Lapita sites have been found throughout the Western Pacific, human remains associated with Lapita period sites are rare. The site of Teouma, on Efate Island, Vanuatu has yielded the largest burial assemblage (n=68 inhumations) of Lapita period humans ever discovered, providing a unique opportunity for assessing human adaptation to the environment in a colonizing population. Stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human bone collagen from forty-nine Teouma adults were analyzed against a comprehensive dietary baseline to assess the paleodiet of some of Vanuatu's earliest inhabitants. The isotopic dietary baseline included both modern plants and animals (n=98) and prehistoric fauna from the site (n=71). The human stable isotope data showed that dietary protein at Teouma included a mixture of reef fish and inshore organisms and a variety of higher trophic marine (e.g. marine turtle) and terrestrial animals (e.g. domestic animals and fruit bats). The domestic pigs and chickens at Teouma primarily ate food from a C3 terrestrial environment but their δ15N values indicated that they were eating foods from higher trophic levels than those of plants, such as insects or human fecal matter, suggesting that animal husbandry at the site may have included free range methods. The dietary interpretations for the humans suggest that broad-spectrum foraging and the consumption of domestic animals were the most important methods for procuring dietary protein at the site. Males displayed significantly higher δ15N values compared with females, possibly suggesting dietary differences associated with labor specialization or socio-cultural practices relating to food distribution.

Fe and Cu stable isotopes in archeological human bones and their relationship to sex.

Accurate sex assignment of ancient human remains usually relies on the availability of coxal bones or well-preserved DNA. Iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) stable isotope compositions ((56)Fe/(54)Fe and (65)Cu/(63)Cu, respectively) were recently measured in modern human blood, and an unexpected result was the discovery of a (56)Fe-depletion and a (65)Cu-enrichment in men's blood compared to women's blood. Bones, being pervasively irrigated by blood, are expected to retain the (56)Fe/(54)Fe and (65)Cu/(63)Cu signature of blood, which in turn is useful for determining the sex of ancient bones. Here, we report the (56)Fe/(54)Fe, (65)Cu/(63)Cu, and (66)Zn/(64)Zn ratios from a suite of well-preserved phalanxes (n = 43) belonging to individuals buried in the 17th and 18th centuries at the necropolis of Saint-Laurent de Grenoble, France, and for which the sex was independently estimated from pelvic bone morphology. The metals were purified from the bone matrix by liquid chromatography on ion exchange resin and the isotope compositions were measured by multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results show that, as expected from literature data on blood, male bone iron is depleted in (56)Fe and enriched in (65)Cu relative to female. No sex difference is found in the (66)Zn/(64)Zn ratios of bone. The concentration and isotopic data show no evidence of soil contamination. Four samples of five (77%) can be assigned their correct sex, a result comparable to sex assignment using Fe and Cu isotopes in blood (81%). Isotopic analysis of metals may therefore represent a valid method of sex assignment applicable to incomplete human remains.

Neanderthals versus Modern Humans: Evidence for Resource Competition from Isotopic Modelling.

During later MOIS3, in Europe two populations were present, autochthonous Neanderthals and modern humans. Ecological competition between these two populations has often been evoked but never demonstrated. Our aim is to establish whether resource competition occurred. In this paper, in order to examine the possibility of ecological competition between these two populations, 599 isotopic data were subjected to rigorous statistical treatment and analysis through mixing models. The aim of this paper was to compare dietary strategies of Neanderthals and modern humans over time. Our conclusions suggest that Neanderthals and modern humans shared dietary habits in the particular environmental context of MOIS3 characterised in Europe by climatic deterioration. In this environmental context, the resource competition between Neanderthals and modern humans may have accelerated the disappearance of the Neanderthal population.

Southern French Neolithic populations: Isotopic evidence for regional specificities in environment and diet.

The Middle Neolithic of the Northwestern Mediterranean area ( approximately 4500-3500 BC cal) is characterized by the development of food production techniques as well as by increasing social complexity. These characteristics could have had an impact on human dietary patterns. To evaluate human dietary practices and lifeways of the Middle Neolithic populations from the South of France, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was carried out on 57 human and 53 faunal bones from seven archaeological sites located in the Languedoc and Garonne regions between 20 and 100 km from the Mediterranean Sea, respectively. Results show regional differences in carbon isotope values. Animal and human bones from the Languedoc region are significantly enriched in (13)C relative to the Garonne. Conversely, human and dog bones from the Garonne region are significantly enriched in (15)N compared to human and dog bones from the Languedoc region. These results highlight the importance of the local ecosystem in human and animal diet as well as a regional differentiation of palaeodietary behavior, which probably relates to economic and social factors. The comparison of stable isotope data with archaeological and biological evidence does not show any significant intra- or interpopulation differences. However, the presence of human outliers suggests that migration probably occurred, perhaps in relation to the trade of animals and/or materials. This study also highlights the importance of investigating local animal stable isotope values for the interpretation of human palaeodiet.